Aggressive About Things or Places

You come home and your floor is scattered with empty tin cans, shredded up boxes, and food packages that have been ripped to shreds. The trash can is toppled over. Your dog sits in the middle of the mess, her eyes wide and apologetic. As a loving dog owner, you may be tempted to let the occasional secret trash feast slide. But when your dog breaks into your trash while you’re away, she’s not only making a mess, she’s endangering her health. Every year, far too many dogs die from eating an item from the trash they weren’t supposed to.

Let’s face it, dogs are territorial animals by nature. They like to protect their territory, their family, and their belongings. Territorial marking is different from urination because it is only a small amount to make other dogs aware that this is their territory. When people notice that their dog has been marking around the house, it is not usually done out of spite, but out of insecurity. For a dog, this insecurity may be a sense that their area is under siege by another person or animal inside the house, or even outside in some cases. Territoriality is not always